Pump



4 Oct. 4,1927. 1,644,401

E. F. ROSS PUMP Filed Oct. 6. 1924 INVENTOR 27km f'fioss (ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 4, 1927.

' isn't-on nose, or SEATTLE, wAsHnveTonQ A pplication wfiled October ,6, 1924-. Serial 1\To."?4i1,809.

, invention relates toapump. More particularly, my invention relates to a pump characterized by having avery lOW' Weight specific use, but the scope of said invention is co-extensive to all uses Where lilre conditions and'proble-ms obtain. The said invention is applicable among other uses to the pumping out of ship hulls, flooded baseinents', also for construction pits, cotter-dams, and for irrigation purposes, the nvention having already been applied to some ofijthesel specified uses.-

A creek or a-muddy poolmayconstitutethe source of Water supply forcombating a forest fire. Every moment during the initial stages of the fire is of the utmost importance A fundamental purpose of invention is to provide a pump ofthe character described, Which will prevent a fire from reach- I ing the forest fire stage. Sincetheone on guard against fires must reach the fire at points often inacess'ible by pack animals, it is a fundamental condition that the equipment must be of the lightest -possible eight and be capable'of being manually carried.

Furthermore, since the carryin 'fwh object,'therei"ore, offmy inventionis to pro vide a portable motor-driven 'pu1np,*char acterized by its lightness of t'v eight,'and yet results'from itsoperation will enable the equipment ordinarily involves climbingsteep grades, a further reason for the elimmation of every possible ounce of Weight obtains.

In short," the amountof Weight eliminated is a direct measure of time saved. A primary being capable of discharging a large, quantityof water,-in short, have an exceedingly low Weightin proportion-to'its hydraulic efficiency. Such a pump must be capable of being quickly set; up in'the' middle of a stream or low marshy placewhere sand and mud may form the unstable bottom. a I

A further condition obtains in that a' motor operates most successfully When it'ha's a three-point mounting, whet-her, suspen-' S1011 or otherwise; so that the vibration Which motor to find its natural base Without strain on its "operating parts. l Vhilea tripod con-' stitutes such a, mounting favorableyto the motor, nevertheless, the ordinary pump,"

proportion to the [Weight J t hen'mounted-ona tripod, createss'uch-a vibration that'it *is difiicult to maintain the, same in an upright position in the bed of a stream, where the vibration tends tofca use the tripod legs to Work deeper anddeeper into the-bottom.-

While apump of; the rotary design overcomes the objection of creat I in'g great vibratory, movement, nevertheless, the rotary pump is desi n'ed and constructed to operate With the rotor members horizon;

tallymounted, and, hence, is not adaptedgto havethe motor superimposed as above specified to render it remote fromthe water level ithout the employment 7 of gea t ansinia sion. To the employment ofjany gears, very great objection obtains inthat therewisfa greatfriction and transmission loss of power, V

and they add c on'siderablyto the Weight and complications of extramoving parts; The effect is thus not only-toadd weight, but 7 v their operating has asum-tot-al inetfectof decreased efficiency. that is jmo'st, objection- I able, sincethey consume power to overcome their frictionr l/Vhen the mar, pumps, as heretofore designed, are-employed With the rotors vertically disposed,it has-been found that the excessivefriction resulting'from the Weight of the rotors bearingon the low part of'ithe pump housing operates to: decrease the life of such rotor members, sothat actual experience in fieldnse has shown-thesame to last only: approximately1 rfortyeight hours of continuous service.

A, primary object of my invention; is to supply a device-L01": 'thecharacter specified, capable of employing Another primary object of my said portable motor. unit Withthe. greatest V hydraulic; etliciency isto lighten 'the'weight' of aipumpflof the character specified by eliminating the ord inary suction; conduit. To'this end, 1 pro I vide a tripod or supp orting. means with. one leg member hollow, ivhich' in and of :Vitself may function -not only as "a supporting leg, but also as suction "conduit,thuseliminat- 'ing the weight incident;to"a su'ction' hose member, hichis a particularlyheavy hose, since it mustvbe non-collapsible and must be capable of sustaining great strainsa'nd roughv l\ oreover,'a fundamental condition in pro viding apump of the character describedxis that it be free of the necessitywfo'r"assembling whena'rriving at the scene of the'fireQ.

Further," itfis necessary that the; suction I I ice member of the tripod beprovided wa e 7' A1s'o,,it is an object of invention to pro- V vide a rotary pump iniwhich the rotor mem bers may be vartically mounted, vand .which i are characterized byhaving. a low degree of '5 friction, and which re' self-lubricatmg.

"'Another primary object'of my invention is to 'provide such arotor p'ump'that the passingoffsand through the same will iiot injure therotormembers.

enumerated fis'fto' having-pilot gears ',"which pump has but one stufling box, thereby I further providing for the elimination of friction,- all to the [end {that a rotor pump,'havin"gits rotor members 7 A further objector invention in pro:

viding a pump 'to'me'et the conditions above provide a rotor "pump l vertically disposed; and-actuated and timed V through pilot veil, ma ib tharactenzed myyihve'ntion,together with gears {revolving a vbath of by reliability and Ilong'li e..

': The above 'mentioned general objects of 'thers inherent I inthesa-me', are attained by thedevice illustrated in the'followin'g; drawings, the same i being merely preferred exemplary forms. of

embodiment of my invention,

which drawings like reference numerals ini dieate likeparts: I

Figure l is-a view in -side V 'elevat'ion of a pump device embodying my invention;

I Fig; 2 is afview, in cross-section through thfe tripod head, pump an'djalso 'ga fragmentary view ofthe "tr pod "hollow'suction leg; V V insection ofya modified form of pump unit embodying 1 my invensand associated, parts,

Fig; 4 is-"a view."-in section through" j =A mounting means 'vidd by a tripodhaving'gle'gs iuand 5,ad-

justable for;angleanddngthyanda hollow suction leg 6secured'to tripod head 7. The I legs 4 'andi5 are preferably provided with a rrgthumb nut means-8 to eg member 9 in] desired legc memberv. may 'be pivoted with mud, i plates -10. "Thei"hol;low suction leg 6 is provide d with strainer cup211 ,the-upper por-f, fltion'fof said cup is provided with aflstrainer screen "12,- while'the'under portion 13 of said ,ffcup -is, preferably formedfconcave, to betterenable the sameto} operate as a {mudplate. The said "strainerscup; may, :vided' with, a spike, let to aid inanchoring ahd '5 may be adjusts i ablyifmounted upon for the device .ispro-v position, and said be further prohinged connection through a wing homection; through 'a' 'wing" 5-- Theisaid legs-"are, preferably provided demountablethrough sc w j i t In'the tripod head 7,

is directly connected 1 85 specially developed A; rotorpump housing pump throughout ber; This provides mechanical friction. within the chamber24;

holdthe telescoping connection formed'by' cured. to said tripod: head 7 through the threaded connection 17. r

there is disposed the having rotor pump mem-- rotor pump unit bers 18 and 19, with discharge outlet nipple 20. This pumpunit may be any standard rotor pump, as shown in Figs. 1 and, 2, but p is the perpendicular which is hereinafter set and is illusforth as a part of my invention, trated in Fig. 3. The pump I V i the pump shaftQl, which is integrally; formed with rotor meinber 18, rotor member 19 is actuated. Also mounted upon the tripod head T and operative'ly connectedcto shaft 21 is disposed a .22 of any standard type. f The motor-22 to the shaft 21 without the interposition of anygears, thus lightening the weight of the device and eliminating loss of power .in} overcoming gear friction.- 1 form of rotor pump unitshown' in Fig. 3 is for 7 use in connection with said pump constituting my inventioni pump chamber 24. In this chamber 24, rotor ed upon shafts. 27 and 28,] 8 bei g zP' 'j vfera'blyaflhollow shaft through which oil 'may pass'as a able cone ball bearings-29,30, 3l' and 32 are f operatively disposed upon hereinafter described. Adjustsaid "shafts 27 and 28 for the purpose; of maintaining the rotor The modified 23 s provided. with a V rotor members 7 Y members and 26 are fixedly mountmembers in ad'usted position within the chamber 24 so that said rotor members 25 and 26 are suspended therein, and areYin no wise supportedby tlielwalls of said'cliam for the minimizingjof Shafts 27 and 28 are preferably provided" I i with pilot gears 33 and 3l fix edly mounted]; v

Thereon, since shaftf2 7 is 'op erathereon. tively connected with :the motor or'wprime mover, shaft 28 is actuated through :gearf 34 which intermeshes with gear 33. These gears function to synchronize the'p-ump rotor v I lobes 35. Thisarrangement,jwhich provides for theactuating'of the pump rotors apart "from the lobes'themselves, i.fe., oneirotor is not actuated by the, other, further: obviates mechanical friction; These; lobesfl35j are;

1 formed to provile a recess 86, sothat fine sand, gravel, orxforeign' substance maypass same. v

an oil chamber 87, while cone ball 39 boltedto housing 23 and cap 40 bolted: to

said plate 39, Shaft 28 is preferably hollow, i r

so thatoil maypass from chamber "37 to Pilot'gears 33 and htogether with cone;- 7

. v through, the .pump. ,w1th0 ut injury to the.-

ichamber 38; thereby the parts are automatically lubricated through one oil supply port 41. This arrangement also eliminates allstutfing boxes except the one box 42, located onthe drive shaft 27. The shafts 27 and 28 operate under heavy ress re within the chamber 24, andfthus the el mination of stufling boxes is important in removing friction and operating difficulties. The stuffing box 42 is disposed on a part of the shaft 27, where it encounters little or no pressure. Stufling boxes, positioned where they must sustain high pressure, must be mounted very tight, and this means that they must develop considerable friction and operating difliculties, in that they must be constantly attended to, and also lubricating difliculties. All these objections are overcome by the structure above described constituting my invention.

Discharge and suction ports 43 and 44,

preferably of oval form respectively to minimize hydraulic friction, provi'de connections for the discharge mppleQO and the suction connection 45, which connects with hollow leg 6. X c

The mode of operation of apump einbodying my invention is as follows:

In a large measure, the particular function of specific partshas already been set forth in describing the construction of the device. Normally, the pump legs 4,5 and 6 are removed, and the said parts, together with the rest .of the device, are placed in a backpacking means. Manifestly, the elimination of all suctionhose, which ordinarily must be very heavily constructed, eliminates many pounds of weight from the device. The hollow leg 6 functions both as a support for the mounting means and also as a suction conduit. Therefore, the fire fighter incarrying this device is free of any suction hose equipment, and the device, being specially adapted to be set up in a stream, makes'it possible to employ a suction leg 6. The inotor is disposed at the point furthest above the.

level of the water. A back-pack load of fifty pounds may be readily handled, provided it is compact The apparatus herein provided for, including motor pump and tripod complete, is manifestly compact and weighs less than forty pounds, and is capable of throwing twenty gallons a minute at seventy pounds pressure. Thus, the second member of the ordinaryforest fire crew is free to carry the discharge equipment exclusively, which consists primarily of two hundred feet of one-inch lightweight, cotton-covered hose and a nozzle. Hence, the two rangers can readily carry said equipment eXpediv --tiously, together with the necessary prothe necessary motor fuel.

The mounting means formed by the trivisions to maintain themselves-for fortyeight hours in the woods, and together with 1 d thus enables, through its i'threepoint support, the motor to be in efiicient operative position, even though: one tripod. leg

. nay settlemore than fll'lOtllGl, and als'ojprovides'for thep'umpj to operate under water soloiig as the motor itself is abovethe water level. The importance of this vert cal disposition of the motoijas respects the pump,

is further emphasized [by the fact"; that it has been found advantageous to tie the said pump and motor to two logs in aswamp without any tripod connection and with the pump 7 unit itself. below the water level. Also, it has been found advantageous to omit the tripod legs and lower the pump unit in suspended form by ropes into holes containing water, thereby providing for the operation of the device in shallow water in holes. lVhilefthis vertical disposition of the motor, as respects the pump, is thus important to meet actual chamber 24,'so that mechanical friction is reduced to a miniinum,{ thus providing for increased rotor speed to build up a greater discharge volume and higher pressure in proportion to the power of the motor. This free mountingis providedv "for by the ad justable cone bearings and the pilot gears. v The device ismadepractically operative by providing for its automatic lubrication from one supply chamber. This isj 'impore tant for operation in the woods, where ma- .chinery must sustain" neglect and abuse.

The apparatus herein described, it will be noted, isfree of open oil'holes or grease cups, Which may permit sand or dirt to enter the bearings, or which may become lost.

parts of my invention, without departing, from the principle thereof, the above set- I operating condivtions, it does develop the difiiculty with re Obviously, changes may be made in the form, dimensions, and arrangement of the .115 I tingforthonly preferred forms of'ei'nbodie ment. 7 *IClfllIliI r I .1. In a device of the character described in combination a pump unit, and a-sfupporting suction conduitmeans for said unit,- said "means including a hollow leg member where-1 by said leg member constitutes a part of the supporting means and also the suction conduit"; I

2. In a'device of in combination 'a pump unit, actuating means forsaid unit; and a supporting. suctioii conduit means for said unit, said conthe character described:

T duit means including-a hollow leg member by said, leg member constitutes a part'of the whereby slaiclfleg meliiber constitutes a part supporting means and also the suction con- 0 ;.Of tl1esup1i0'rtii1g me'a'ns "and-51st) the suction Cluit, and a "strainer-'mud plate operatively' @conduit, l f I disposed upon saiclleg iilemberfl 1 v 3.;111 a device of the character described In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe in c OmbiIiatiOnWith-a pump unit, a suppbrtmy name this 26th clay Of September, fingsuqtio'n conduit meansvforsaid unitg said 1924. I ,l j mean's'lncluclinga hollow leg member Where- I ELTON "F. ROSS. 

